Montana coach Wayne Tinkle says his team's leading scorer, forward Mathias Ward, will miss the rest of the season after undergoing foot surgery.

Tinkle says the 6-7 senior from Gig Harbor, Wash., hopes to play professionally and had the surgery done Wednesday morning to give him time to heal and pursue those opportunities.

Ward injured the arch of his foot Feb. 16 against Idaho State and missed the past three games.

He played in 118 games at Montana and started in 55. He scored 933 points in his career and grabbed 324 rebounds. This season, he was averaging 14.8 points per game, which was fifth in the Big Sky Conference.

Montana also has been playing without senior point guard Will Cherry. Tinkle says he hopes to have him back in time for the Big Sky Tournament, which runs from March 14-16.